Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who would make the Galápagos Islands famous, wrote about the two species of iguana he encountered on the islands: the land iguana and the marine iguanas. He missed the third type: a pink iguana native to the northernmost of five volcanoes on Isabela Island. Darwin should not feel bad, however: the iguana was also missed by thousands of whalers, guides, tourists and all sorts of other visitors. Isabela Island has even been inhabited since the 1950s!
Discovered in 1986
The iguana was first “discovered” in 1986 by some park rangers who were hiking on Wolf Volcano, one of five on Isabela Island. They saw what looked at first like a common Galapagos land iguana, about three feet long and with a crest behind its head. These iguanas, however, were pink with black splotches and stripes instead of yellow. They promptly reported the pink iguana to the scientists at the Charles Darwin Research Station, and some thought that perhaps it was a new species. Most, however, thought that it was most likely a common land iguana that may have been injured or burned by volcanic activity.
A New Species
Recently, however, a study by scientists from Tor Vergara University in Rome, Italy, not only proves that the iguanas are a new species, but that they are much older than the other two Galapagos Iguanas. They can trace their ancestry back 5 million years, which is quite remarkable considering that Isabela Island is only an estimated 350,000 years old. In other words, the pink iguanas came to Galapagos eons ago and actually changed islands at one point, to Isabela from some other island that today no longer exists, eroded away by waves and time.
An At-Risk Population
This has caused quite a stir in the Galapagos scientific community. The notion that such a large animal could remain undiscovered for so long is amazing. Everyone agrees that the matter needs more study and work. The population of pink iguanas is very small, and their habitat is limited, so they are considered to be a species in very high risk of extinction. Most likely, some will be bred in captivity in order to help protect the population, although facts about the iguanas (such as their diet) remain scarce.
Iguanas Have a Chance
The good news for the pink iguana is that goats have been removed from their habitat. Goats, released by whalers and other ships centuries ago on several Galapagos Islands, are very harmful to other wildlife as they eat vegetation and destroy habitats. Ongoing park efforts have removed feral goats from that part of Isabela Island. The iguanas will still have to cope with the dangers of introduced rats and cats, however.
So score one more for the Galapagos Islands, Darwin’s land of evolution!
 |
